quarta-feira, julho 29

The Story Behind the Writing of New Moon

**A note: I don't pull any punches here, so if you haven't read New Moon and you don't want to be spoiled, don't read this.**

Writing a sequel is a very different experience than writing a story. It was for me, at least.

If you've read the story behind Twilight, then you know that I didn't set out to write a novel or begin a career as an author. I was just writing down a story for my personal enjoyment, letting it grow as it would and lead where it would. No pressure, just fun.

The first sequel I wrote to Twilight—Forever Dawn—was more of the same. I wasn't planning a sequel any more than I was planning to write a book in the first place. Originally, Twilight had a more defined ending. But, when it was ended, I started writing epilogues. After I'd written three epilogues, all of them over a hundred pages long, I realized I wasn't ready to stop writing about Bella and Edward. One of those epilogues turned into Forever Dawn.

(People often ask me if I'm ever going to make Forever Dawn public. The answer is no. For one thing, it's not great—it's downright embarrassing in some places. However, some of the content will work as a loose outline for book four, so I can't tell you what happened, either.)

I was about three hundred pages into Forever Dawn when my life got turned upside down. Twilight was going to be published. People were going to read what I was writing. More specifically, young adults were going to be reading what I was writing. Unintentionally, I'd written a young adult novel. I realized pretty quickly that Forever Dawn did not follow the rules of YA. Because I was caught up in the story, I finished Forever Dawn anyway, knowing that it would never see the light of day; I gave it to my big sister as a birthday gift. And then I started on the real sequel.

The biggest non-YA thing I'd done with Forever Dawn was this: I'd pretty much passed over the rest of Bella's high school experience entirely, skipping ahead to a time in her life with more mature themes. So, as I began to sketch out New Moon, I went back to Bella's senior year of high school and asked my little cast of characters, "What happened?"

I swiftly regretted asking them for the story. Because they gave me a story I wasn't expecting. More specifically, Edward told me something I didn't want to hear.

I should probably mention here that I am not crazy (that I know of), it's just that I am a character writer. I write my stories because of my characters; they are the motivation and the reward. The difficulty with strong, defined characters, though, is that you can't make them do something that is out of character. They have to be who they are and, as a writer, they're often out of your control.

As I started plotting New Moon (untitled at that point), it became clear that Edward was Edward, and he would have to behave as only Edward would. And, because of that, Edward was leaving.

NO! I didn't want Edward to leave. I pitched a fit every bit as violent and tearful as those I've seen in New Moon discussion forums. I tried to talk him out of it. I presented him with other plot options. I begged. Edward remained unmoved.

Someday, when Midnight Sun (Edward's version of Twilight) is available, I think you'll understand better what was going on in the boy's head. See, just as Bella doesn't think she's good enough for Edward, Edward sees himself as a soulless monster destroying Bella's life and endangering her afterlife. The incident with Jasper acts as a catalyst, forcing him to act. He is determined to save Bella. He thinks the best way to do this is to take the vampires out of her life.

Is he being silly? In some ways, yes. But he can't see any other way to protect Bella. Edward's dealing with the idea that if he hadn't been quick enough, if he hadn't read Jasper's thoughts just in the nick of time, then would that—death—have been better for Bella than a life with Edward? If she died at eighteen and went to heaven, wouldn't that be better than an immortal but soulless and damned existence? Edward thinks so. However, he knows he'd never be able to watch her die. Consequently, he'd better get away from her before something happens that makes biting her a necessity...

So there I was, with Edward leaving. It was a hard pill to swallow, but once I accepted the inevitability of it, I had an interesting question on my hands. (And writers live for interesting questions.)

WHAT IF... What if true love left you? Not some ordinary high school romance, not some random jock boyfriend, not anyone at all replaceable. True love. The real deal. Your other half, your true soul's match. What happens if he leaves?

The answer is different for everyone. Juliet had her version, Marianne Dashwood had hers, Isolde and Catherine Earnshaw and Scarlett O'Hara and Anne Shirley all had their ways of coping.

I had to answer the question for Bella. What does Bella Swan do when true love leaves her? Not just true love, but Edward Cullen! None of those other heroines lost an Edward (Romeo was a hothead, Willoughby was a scoundrel, Tristan had loyalty issues, Heathcliff was pure evil, Rhett had a mean streak and cheated with hookers, and sweet Gilbert was much more of a Jacob than an Edward). So what happens when True Love in the form of Edward Cullen leaves Bella?

I let Bella answer the question for herself, writing to see what she would do. It was hard to write her pain, because I had to live it to write it, and I was often writing through my tears. At the same time, it was always interesting. Bella surprised me with her grit and dogged determination. She pushed through the agony, living for others—Charlie in this case—as has always been her style.

(Side note: there are those who think Bella is a wuss. There are those who think my stories are misogynistic—the damsel in distress must be rescued by strong hero.

To the first accusation, I can only say that we all handle grief in our own way. Bella's way is no less valid than any other to my mind. Detractors of her reaction don't always take into account that I'm talking about true love here, rather than high school infatuation.

I emphatically reject the second accusation. I am all about girl power—look at Alice and Jane if you doubt that. I am not anti-female, I am anti-human. I wrote this story from the perspective of a female human because that came most naturally, as you might imagine. But if the narrator had been a male human, it would not have changed the events. When a human being is totally surrounded by creatures with supernatural strength, speed, senses, and various other uncanny powers, he or she is not going to be able to hold his or her own. Sorry. That's just the way it is. We can't all be slayers. Bella does pretty well I think, all things considered. She saves Edward, after all. Side note/rant over. Back to the story.)

And thus was born the basic premise of New Moon, and with it the title. To follow after Twilight, I needed a time of day to reflect the mood of the sequel. As this is the blackest period of Bella's life, I thought it appropriate to name the book after the darkest kind of night, a night with no moon.

When the advanced reading copies began to fall into the hands of my fans, I asked people read New Moon twice, promising that I would explain why later. It's later, and this is why: the first time through New Moon, I've found that readers are so anxious about the absence of Edward that they can't settle into the middle portion of the book. They skim and speed read and flip ahead until, at last, they find him again. However, at that point they've missed the main section of the novel almost completely. On a second reading, knowing that Edward will return to the story at the proper place and time, the reader can slow down and enjoy the wondrousness that is Jacob Black.

And with that as a segue, on to the benefits!

I didn't realize until I was working on the resolution how much my characters had gained from this experience. Vital stuff. Without this painful separation, Bella might never have realized that Edward really is hers to keep. No matter how perfect she thinks he is, or how imperfect she thinks she is, he belongs to her. Words can't quite capture the life-changing nature of this knowledge for Bella.

Equally as cataclysmic—Edward finally realizes the intensity of Bella's feelings for him, something he has always underestimated. Here's the thing about Edward: he knows human nature pretty well. He's seen a hundred thousand human relationships from the inside, and none of them have come close to touching the depth and everlasting devotion of Carlisle's and Esme's love, or Alice's and Jasper's, or even Rosalie's and Emmett's. Can you blame him for thinking himself—after one hundred years of immortal experience—capable of a more profound love than his eighteen-year-old human girlfriend? Edward is, understandably, a bit of a know-it-all. He learns a lot through this experience, the most important being that Bella's feelings for him are an exception to the human rule. Something else he learns (not quite as important, but still good to know) is that, despite all his knowledge, he is fully able to make hideous mistakes in judgment.

Ah, and then there is my favorite gift that New Moon gave to me: Jacob Black.

Jacob's development into a major character was a strange journey. Originally, Jacob was just a device. In Twilight, Bella needed a way to find out the truth about Edward, and the conveniently located Quileute Tribe, with all their fantastic legends, provided a cool option for that revelation. And so Jacob was born—born to tell Bella and Edward's secret.

Something happened then that I didn't expect. Jacob was my first experience with a character taking over—a minor character developing such roundness and life that I couldn't keep him locked inside a tiny role. (Since Jacob, this has reoccurred with several other meant-to-be-minor characters. I really love it when this happens, though it often destroys my outlines.) From the very beginning, even when Jacob only appeared in chapter six of Twilight, he was so alive. I liked him. More than I should for such a small part. Bella liked him. Her instinctive trust and affection came without my intervention. And it wasn't just us; my agent did, too. "I love that Jacob kid," Jodi said (or something to that effect-this all happened in 2003). My editor agreed. "Can we get more Jacob in the story?" Megan asked.

Oh yes, we could!

I was writing New Moon and editing Twilight simultaneously. So, when Jacob Black started taking over New Moon, I was able to go back and weave Jacob and Billy throughout Twilight more centrally.

Lots of people give me more credit than I deserve; they think I knew Jacob was a werewolf from the very beginning. This is not the case. Twilight was supposed to be a stand alone novel, remember. There was no thought of werewolves in my mind as I wrote it. The Quileute (Quill-yoot) legends Jacob tells Bella in chapter six of Twilight are all genuine Quileute stories that I learned when I was researching the tribe (which is a real tribe with a truly fascinating and mystical history). All actual Quileute legends, except for the vampire myth about the 'cold ones.' I latched onto the wolf story (the actual Quileute legend claims that the tribe descended from wolves transformed by a sorcerer) because it fit with my sketchy knowledge of vampires and werewolves always being at each others' throats (ha ha, pun intended). The dream Bella had of Jacob transforming into a wolf to protect her had no foreshadowing significance at the time. It was just my way of letting Bella's subconscious articulate the situation.

Of course, I of all people should know that dreams can have a serious impact on your life.

Bella's wolf dream was always one of my favorite visual images from Twilight. When I started working on New Moon, that image stuck with me. And I thought to myself, wouldn't it be cool if it was true—if ALL of Jacob's legends were founded in absolute fact? What if Jacob was descended from wolves?

It all started to come together then. Sam on the beach in Twilight was no longer just a believer in old traditions—he was the first contemporary wolf. Billy's warnings were more vital—he had concrete evidence on his hands, rather than just suspicions. And Jacob, my poor, sweet Jacob, had a whole secret heritage just waiting to come crashing down on him.

At that point all the crucial supports of the story were in place, and I only had to write it. Ha. Easier said then done.

It's hard to explain how joyous the writing process was for me when I was creating Twilight. It was something I did for fun and excitement, with no concern for what anyone else might think, because no one else was ever going to read it. With New Moon, I knew people were going to read it. And some of those people were going to have bright red pens in hand while reading. I knew enough about the editing process to know that there were painful changes ahead; the parts I loved now might not make the final cut. I was going to have to rethink and revise and rework. This made it very hard to put the words down, and I had a horrible feeling much like stage fright the whole time I was writing.

It took about five months, but the editing process was much longer and more difficult than the same process with Twilight. New Moon was a very hard story to tell, not only emotionally, but also functionally. It needed a lot of work. The New Moon outtakes I posted explain some of the bigger renovations that I had to make.

The good news is that I got over—or rather got used to—the stage fright. Book three was much easier in a multitude of ways. I learned a lot through the New Moon experience, and I grew as a writer. Even better, my characters grew and matured in interesting ways that gave me so much to work with throughout the rest of the series! I'm writing book four at this moment in time, and let me tell you, Forks is a very exciting place to be these days
These two offerings are not outtakes; they were never part of the manuscript. Rather, these are short (well, reasonably short) pieces I wrote after New Moon was all finished, both inspired by questions and comments on the Twilight Lexicon.

So many people were curious about what exactly Rosalie said to Edward during that fateful phone call. Here is that short section of New Moon from Edward's perspective:

Rosalie's News

Miscalculation

I noticed a disturbing trend various places on-line—people are ascribing the most nefarious motives to Jacob Black, insisting he has some kind of dark agenda. Some of this is due, in my opinion, to a heavy general bias in favor of vampires over werewolves. But some of it must be my fault. Apparently Jacob's intentions are not as clear to the reader as they are to me. Now, I'm not up for writing all of New Moon from Jacob's perspective (I'm dizzy at the thought), but I did want to let people look through his eyes for a bit, were they so inclined. (It was supposed to be much shorter than this but you know me.) So, if you want to know the other other side of the story, here's your chance to walk a mile in Jacob Black's shoes:

Being Jacob Black

Having trouble viewing the pdf files? Click here

Message from Stephenie:
You got to see a little taste of New Moon tonight, but I promise you this: when it comes to New Moon, you haven't seen anything yet! Can November please come faster?

***March 23, 2009***

SUMMIT ENTERTAINMENT RUNS WITH THE WOLF PACK IN THE TWILIGHT SAGA: NEW MOON

Chaske Spencer, Bronson Pelletier, Alex Meraz, Kiowa Gordon and Tyson Houseman to Star as Members of Wolf Pack

Los Angeles, CA — March 23, 2009 — Summit Entertainment announced today that Native American/First Nation actors Chaske Spencer, Bronson Pelletier, Alex Meraz, Kiowa Gordon and Tyson Houseman have signed on to star as the members of the wolf pack in THE TWILIGHT SAGA: NEW MOON. In the film, the wolf pack defends humans against vampires although they have a tribal history intricately entwined with Edward Cullen and his family. The wolf pack members will join Kristen Stewart, Robert Pattinson and fellow wolf pack member Taylor Lautner in the film directed by Chris Weitz which will be released domestically November 20, 2009.

In THE TWILIGHT SAGA: NEW MOON, Bella Swan (Kristen Stewart) is devastated by the abrupt departure of her vampire love, Edward Cullen (Robert Pattinson) but her spirit is rekindled by her growing friendship with the irresistible Jacob Black (Taylor Lautner). Suddenly she finds herself drawn into the world of the werewolves, ancestral enemies of the vampires, and finds her loyalties tested.

Each member of the wolf pack is of Native decent. Spencer is Lakota (Sioux), Pelletier is Cree-Metis, Meraz is Purepecha (Tarasco), Gordon is Hualapai, and Houseman, who was discovered at an open casting call, is Cree. Casting of the wolf pack was overseen by award-winning casting director Rene Haynes who is well-known for her work on Native projects ranging from DANCES WITH WOLVES to BURY MY HEART AT WOUNDED KNEE.

The action-packed, modern day vampire love story and blockbuster success of the first film in the series entitled TWILIGHT was released in theatres on November 21, 2008 grossing $60.9 million domestically during its first weekend. To date the film has grossed nearly $380 million worldwide. TWILIGHT was released on DVD, Blu-ray and VOD this past Saturday, March 21st and sold over 3 million DVD units in its first day of release making it one of the top five best first day DVD releases over the past two years.

About Summit Entertainment LLC:
Summit Entertainment is a worldwide theatrical motion picture development, financing, production and distribution studio. The studio handles all aspects of marketing and distribution for both its own internally developed motion pictures as well as acquired pictures. Summit Entertainment, LLC also represents international sales for both its own slate and third party product. Summit Entertainment, LLC plans to release 10 to 12 films annually.

***January 7, 2009***

Good news about New Moon from director Chris Weitz:

I'm very happy to announce that Taylor Lautner will be playing Jacob Black in New Moon and that he's doing so with the enthusiastic support of Summit Entertainment, the producers, and Stephenie Meyer.

The characters in Stephenie's books go through extraordinary changes of circumstance and also appearance; so it is not surprising that there has been speculation about whether the same actor would portray a character who changes in so many surprising ways throughout the series. But it was my first instinct that Taylor was, is, and should be Jacob, and that the books would be best served by the actor who is emotionally right for the part. I think that fans of Twilight the book and the movie will be surprised by the Jacob Black that Taylor will bring to the screen in New Moon; and I'm looking forward to working with him and the rest of the cast in realizing the film.

very best

Chris Weitz

I'd just like to add that I was very much a part of this decision. My first priority was always what was best for New Moon—what was going to give us the best possible movie. I'm truly thrilled that Taylor was the one who proved to the director, to Summit, and to me that he is the best possible Jacob we could have. And I'm very much looking forward to seeing what he's going to bring to Jacob's character this year.

- Steph

***December 13, 2008***

Hey guys,

There's been a lot of worry and speculation on the boards lately, and I want to let you know what's going on.

First of all, like you, I'm sad that Catherine is not continuing on with us for New Moon. I'm going to miss her, not just as a brilliant director, but also as a friend. She has such a distinct, authentic voice that did amazing things for Twilight. I'm looking forward to every movie she does in the future.

And she didn't leave us empty handed. We still get the benefits of her amazing casting and the beautiful visual world she created. This foundation puts us in a good place for New Moon.

Summit Films is moving forward with a new director for New Moon. They've asked Chris Weitz, director of American Pie, About a Boy, and The Golden Compass, to join us, and I am very pleased to announce that he's agreed to be a part of our Twilight world. I've had the chance to talk to Chris, and I can tell you that he is excited by the story and eager to keep the movie as close to the book as possible. He is also very aware of you, the fans, and wants to keep you all extremely happy. (Torches and pitchforks are not going to be necessary.)

I'm excited to work with Chris and I think he brings a lot to the table, not the least of which for me is that he wrote the screenplay for and directed one of my favorite movies of all time, About a Boy. I'm really looking forward to seeing his vision for New Moon.

Below is a letter from Chris to you. I think you'll get a glimpse in this note of how cool it's going to be having Chris as part of our community.
One more thing, unrelated but fun: I finally got around to posting a few pictures from the premiere on the Twilight movie page.

--Stephenie

***December 7, 2008***

Since we always try to keep everybody informed about everything going on in movie news, here is another press release from Summit Entertainment:

SUMMIT BEGINS SEARCH FOR NEW MOON DIRECTOR

Los Angeles, CA, December 7, 2008 — Summit Entertainment and director Catherine Hardwicke jointly announced today that the filmmaker will not be directing the next installment in the newly minted TWILIGHT film franchise. Summit's targeted end of 2009 or early 2010 release of the film, NEW MOON, does not work with Ms. Hardwicke's required prep time to bring her vision of the film to the big screen. Thus as has been done before with many successful film franchises, the studio will employ a new director for NEW MOON.

"I am sorry that due to timing I will not have the opportunity to direct NEW MOON," said Hardwicke. "Directing TWILIGHT has been one of the great experiences of my life, and I am grateful to the fans for their passionate support of the film. I wish everyone at Summit the best with the sequel—it is a great story."

"Catherine did an incredible job in helping us to launch the TWILIGHT franchise and we thank her for all of her efforts and we very much hope to work with her on future Summit projects," said Erik Feig, Summit's President of Production. "We as a studio have a mandate to bring the next installment in the franchise to the big screen in a timely fashion so that fans can get more of Edward, Bella and all of the characters that Stephenie Meyer has created. We are able to pursue an aggressive time frame as we have the luxury of only adapting the novels into screenplays as opposed to having to create a storyline from scratch."

***November 22, 2008***

In case you haven't read about it on fansites or movie blogs, here is the news that we have all been waiting for [source: Summit Entertainment @ summit-ent.com]

SUMMIT ENTERTAINMENT ANNOUNCES TWILIGHT SEQUEL - NEW MOON

Los Angeles, CA November 22, 2008 — Summit Entertainment announced today that the studio is officially moving forward with the production of NEW MOON, the second installment of its filmed franchise TWILIGHT, the action-packed, modern day vampire love story. The movie will be based on the second novel in author Stephenie Meyer's Twilight series titled, New Moon. The first movie in the TWILIGHT franchise, the self-titled TWILIGHT, arrived in theaters this weekend to sold-out showings.

Stephenie Meyer stated, "I don't think any other author has had a more positive experience with the makers of her movie adaptation than I have had with Summit Entertainment. I'm thrilled to have the chance to work with them again on NEW MOON."

Starring Robert Pattinson and Kristen Stewart, TWILIGHT tells the story of 17-year-old Bella Swan who moves to the small town of Forks, Washington to live with her father, and becomes drawn to Edward Cullen, a pale, mysterious classmate who seems determined to push her away. But neither can deny the attraction that pulls them together...even when Edward confides that he and his family are vampires. Their unorthodox romance puts her in physical danger when Edward's nemesis comes to town and sets his sights on Bella.



To read about everything we posted about Twilight the Movie, click here

To view entries and updates to the movie page from before August 2007, click here to go to the archives.

Midnight Sun

Midnight Sun: Edward's Version of Twilight

August 28, 2008

As some of you may have heard, my partial draft of Midnight Sun was illegally posted on the Internet and has since been virally distributed without my knowledge or permission or the knowledge or permission of my publisher.

I have a good idea of how the leak happened as there were very few copies of Midnight Sun that left my possession and each was unique. Due to little changes I made to the manuscript at different times, I can tell when each left my possession and to whom it was given. The manuscript that was illegally distributed on the Internet was given to trusted individuals for a good purpose. I have no comment beyond that as I believe that there was no malicious intent with the initial distribution.

I did not want my readers to experience Midnight Sun before it was completed, edited and published. I think it is important for everybody to understand that what happened was a huge violation of my rights as an author, not to mention me as a human being. As the author of the Twilight Saga, I control the copyright and it is up to the owner of the copyright to decide when the books should be made public; this is the same for musicians and filmmakers. Just because someone buys a book or movie or song, or gets a download off the Internet, doesn't mean that they own the right to reproduce and distribute it. Unfortunately, with the Internet, it is easy for people to obtain and share items that do not legally belong to them. No matter how this is done, it is still dishonest. This has been a very upsetting experience for me, but I hope it will at least leave my fans with a better understanding of copyright and the importance of artistic control.

So where does this leave Midnight Sun? My first feeling was that there was no way to continue. Writing isn't like math; in math, two plus two always equals four no matter what your mood is like. With writing, the way you feel changes everything. If I tried to write Midnight Sun now, in my current frame of mind, James would probably win and all the Cullens would die, which wouldn't dovetail too well with the original story. In any case, I feel too sad about what has happened to continue working on Midnight Sun, and so it is on hold indefinitely.

I'd rather my fans not read this version of Midnight Sun. It was only an incomplete draft; the writing is messy and flawed and full of mistakes. But how do I comment on this violation without driving more people to look for the illegal posting? It has taken me a while to decide how and if I could respond. But to end the confusion, I've decided to make the draft available here (at the end of this post). This way, my readers don't have to feel they have to make a sacrifice to stay honest. I hope this fragment gives you further insight into Edward's head and adds a new dimension to the Twilight story. That's what inspired me to write it in the first place.

I do want to take a moment and thank the wonderful fans who have been so supportive of me over the past three years. I cannot begin to tell you how much each of you means to me. I only hope this note will stop all the confusion and online speculation so that the Twilight universe can once again become the happy escape it used to be. After this incredibly busy year, I am now focusing on spending more time with my family and working on some other writing projects.

--Stephenie

Midnight Sun Partial Draft (if you are having problems viewing it, please click here.) This material is copyrighted by Stephenie Meyer. Any retranscription or reproduction is illegal.



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June 2008 Update: In response to the outrageous number of emails that I have received with questions concerning Midnight Sun, I talked to Stephenie this weekend and she asked me to let everyone know that Midnight Sun is her next project. She has not yet finished writing it (and there is no timeline set up, so we all need to put a lot of effort into being patient for a while longer), but she is definitely still planning on having it published. And, after Breaking Dawn comes out, Stephenie will have much more time to focus on writing Midnight Sun.



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Midnight Sun is an exercise in character development that got wildly out of hand (as do many of my projects).

While I was procrastinating some real editing work (I'm always at my most creative when procrastinating), I started to wonder how the first chapter of Twilight would read if it were written from Edward's perspective. There is so much more to his side of the story than there is to Bella's in that first chapter. After all, Bella only knows that an incredibly gorgeous boy is looking at her funny. Meanwhile, Edward is suffering through one of the most momentous days of his very long life! First there's the shock and frustration of not being able to hear Bella's thoughts, then the wild, monstrous reaction to her scent, followed by the incredible expenditure of self-control that it takes to not kill her... His side of Bella's first day at Forks High School is a hundred times more exciting than her own.

Though I didn't have time to work on it right away, the idea of letting Edward have his chance to speak stuck with me. I couldn't shake it. I found myself thinking his words in the middle of the night and jotting down phrases he would use while I was waiting in line at the post office. As soon as I finished my real work, I sat down and let Edward get his say.

Writing chapter one, "First Sight," from Edward's point of view was an exciting experience; I actually had my pulse racing as I typed. When I finished, I was truly pleased with my creation. Here was the other side of the story that no one knew. Here was the truth of what Edward had been through. I felt like I knew my Edward even better, and I was sure his dialogue would be more insightful in future novels. The end. Exercise over.

Ha ha. It wasn't long before I was thinking about Edward in Alaska, Edward upon his return to Forks, Edward's side of that fateful conversation in Biology... Chapter two started to write itself in my head, while I kept telling myself that I didn't have time to write a book for fun when I had real books to write. (My mother seconded that opinion—she thinks I work too hard).

But when a story demands to be written, there's no way to resist. And the more I wrote, the more I became convinced that Edward deserved to have his story told. At first I was planning to post it all here on my website, but I changed my mind for two reasons, the most important being that Edward's version is much longer than Bella's—Edward over-thinks everything. I'm not even half way done, and the page count is near three hundred. The second reason that I changed my mind is a little bit silly—I just would really love to have a pretty, matching, bound version of Midnight Sun to put beside Twilight on top of my desk. So I'm going to try to have it published as a complementary novel to Twilight. It will take a while, because I can only work on it between editing stints, but I hope that someday I'll be able to see Midnight Sun on the bookstore shelves next to Twilight, New Moon, Eclipse, and etc... (Fueling my belief that Midnight Sun is worthy of publishing is my mother's about face—after reading the first eleven chapters, she thinks it's magic and says I should go for it.)

And here I was going to write just a short paragraph of introduction. You see what I mean about things getting out of hand?

Because I just can't wait out the years it will take to reach publication for people to begin to understand Edward, here is my original character development exercise, Edward's version of Bella's first day at Forks High School, the first chapter of Midnight Sun*:

Midnight Sun Chapter 1 (if you are having problems viewing it, please click here.) This material is copyrighted by Stephenie Meyer. Any retranscription or reproduction is illegal.

*Please remember this is an unedited rough draft. It is full of typos and all the other flaws that unedited manuscripts have. Enjoy it for what it is, but know that the final copy will be infinitely superior.

BREAKING DAWN

(This is from Stephenie, so don't just skip over it thinking that it is another boring message from the webmaster.)

It's almost August, and I'm counting down to the release of Breaking Dawn just as anxiously as you are! I can't wait to finally be able to discuss everything that happens in Breaking Dawn with you. I want to give a heads up to everyone going to the Breaking Dawn Concert Series events in Chicago, Los Angeles, and Seattle: I am going to talk about it all, so bring earplugs if you haven't finished reading Breaking Dawn by then! (If you're going to the first event in New York, it will be spoiler free.)

Speaking of spoilers, I want to ask you guys for a favor. As we saw with Eclipse (not to mention that last Harry Potter book), there is always the potential for copies of the book to be leaked early. My publisher is doing everything they can to prevent this, but there is only so much that can be done. This is the favor: if someone, somewhere, somehow, gets a copy early, I'm asking you to please not post any spoilers on the internet. And if you see something, please don't spread it around. Breaking Dawn was meant to be experienced in a certain way, and I would hate for someone to get that experience ruined by seeing something online they didn't want to see. My fans have been super cool about this in the past—last year in particular you guys went above and beyond to protect Eclipse until the release date—and I hope that we'll have the same positive experience this year.

If somebody does post a spoiler (and remember there will be a lot of hoaxes out there—do not believe everything you read: Bella gets eaten by a polar bear, anyone?), I'd love your help in getting them taken down. My publisher has set up a special e-mail account, bdcopyrightviolation@hbgusa.com, for fans to alert us to spoilers that appear online. PLEASE only send links to spoilers. E-mails about events, contacting me, etc. will not be returned.

Another thing you may notice close to the release of Breaking Dawn is that the message boards on several fansites will be taken down. They are doing this as a favor to me because I want to protect you all from stumbling upon something that could ruin the book for you. There will be plenty of time to discuss all the details of the book after August 2nd.

Finally, I don't think I could ever thank all of you enough for being so devoted to this series. You've proved over and over again that you are the best fans in the world. I hope that together we can make sure everybody gets to experience Breaking Dawn the way it was intended — on August 2nd [or the 4th if you live outside North America].

We're almost there!

--Steph

Official Press Release: BREAKING DAWN WILL RELEASE ON AUGUST 2, 2008

(Haven't reserved your copy yet? Click here to pre-order Breaking Dawn.)

2008 MAJOR YEAR FOR MEYER WITH DEBUT OF ADULT NOVEL AND TWILIGHT MOVIE

February 7, 2008 (New York, NY) — The wait is over. At 12:01 a.m. on Saturday, August 2, 2008, Little, Brown Books for Young Readers, a division of Hachette Book Group USA, will release the most anticipated novel of the year — Breaking Dawn, it was announced today by Megan Tingley, the division's Senior Vice President and Publisher. The fourth and final book in Stephenie Meyer's #1 international bestselling Twilight Saga will be available in a hardcover edition for $22.99/$23.99 Can.

The countdown to Breaking Dawn will begin on Saturday, May 31, 2008 with the publication of the Eclipse Special Edition which coincides with the annual BookExpo America show, the book publishing industry's largest convention. This deluxe hardcover version of the third book in the series not only includes the cover art for Breaking Dawn, but also the first chapter—both of which will be revealed to the public for the first time. The trade paperback of New Moon, the second book in the Twilight Saga, will also be released on Saturday, May 31, 2008.

"Stephenie Meyer has written a dazzling grand finale to an epic love story," commented Tingley. "And with the extraordinary excitement surrounding the publication of Breaking Dawn, I'm thrilled that legions of new readers will now discover the saga that has already captivated millions around the world."

Meyer's fans will have plenty to keep them occupied until the release of the Eclipse Special Edition and Breaking Dawn. On May 6, 2008, Little, Brown and Company will release The Host, Meyer's highly-anticipated debut novel for adults. Little, Brown and Company has announced a 500,000 copy first-printing and Meyer will embark on a 10-city author tour for The Host.

"We are thrilled to be publishing two novels from this extraordinary talent in 2008," said David Young, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of Hachette Book Group USA. "Stephenie Meyer has already achieved so much in her young career and this year further establishes her as a major force in the publishing industry. Given her remarkable talent and her passionate, ever-growing fan base, there is no limit to Stephenie Meyer's success."

Meyer's amazing year will be capped off by a major motion picture event. Summit Entertainment will bring Twilight to the big screen, directed by Catherine Hardwicke ("Thirteen," "Lords of Dogtown") and starring Kristen Stewart ("Into The Wild") and Robert Pattinson ("Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire"). It will be released nationwide on December 12, 2008.

In just two years, Stephenie Meyer has become a worldwide publishing phenomenon. Twilight was one of 2005's most talked about novels and translation rights have been sold in 33 countries. The sequel, New Moon, was released in September 2006, and spent over 30 weeks at the #1 position on The New York Times bestseller list. Eclipse, the latest book in the series released on August 7, 2007, catapulted to the #1 slot on bestseller lists nationwide after selling 150,000 copies its first day on-sale. There are over 5.5 million copies of the Twilight Saga in-print worldwide.

Little, Brown Books for Young Readers is a division of Hachette Book Group USA, a leading trade publisher based in New York and a division of Hachette Livre, the second largest publisher in the world. Hachette Book Group's product lines include adult, illustrated, religious, children's and audio books under the Little, Brown and Company, Little Brown Books for Young Readers, Grand Central Publishing, FaithWords, Center Street, Orbit, Yen Press and Hachette Book Group Digital Media imprints. For more information, visit www.hbgusa.com.

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February 7, 2008: The official release date for Breaking Dawn will be August 2, 2008! Click here to pre-order Breaking Dawn.

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Click here to read Entertainment Weekly's exclusive preview of the first chapter of Breaking Dawn.

terça-feira, julho 21

Elenco de Crepúsculo fala sobre Lua Nova, Projetos, e sobre o cheiro de Robert Pattinson

Elenco esclarece boatos e fala das gravações from Foforks Brazil on Vimeo.

Em uma convenção para os fãs da saga Twilight, no final de semana passado, os atores Kellan Lutz, Edi Gathegi, Mike Welt e o italiano Peter Facinelli,deram entrevistas e falaram gravações de Lua Nova, sequência de Crepúsculo ,dos companheiros de trabalho,e ainda esclarecem vários boatos do set, inclusive aquele que não quer calar - o suposto mal cheiro do Robert Pattinson.

Sobre esse assunto, o ator que interpreta o lobo Paul, em Lua Nova, Alex Meraz, deu uma declaração dizendo que ” Rob cheira como rosas”, parece mesmo que o cheiro do galã é pauta de toda redação.

Sobre as gravações de Lua Nova, ontem foram vistos chegando em Vancouver, Canadá, os atores que darão vida aos vampiros Volturis, Jamie Campbell Bower e Michael Sheen. As gravações seguem para Montepulciano, Itália, no final do mês de maio.

Enquanto isso, acompanhe a entrevista acima. Lua Nova chega em novembro no Brasil e uma premiére está sendo programada para os fãs brasileiros